Pension News (Canada)

As of January 1, 2027, the federal government will reduce Canada Pension Plan contributions for the base CPP from 9.9% to 9.5% (i.e., the rate for each of employer and employee contributions will decrease from 4.95% to 4.75%).

A bill reversing the order of who pays first for some benefits coverage and an age cap on workplace benefits is causing Alberta-based employers to question the financial impact of the legislation. Bill 11 amends the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act so that it reverses the payer order if an individual has both private and a government-sponsored benefits plan.

B.C. is reversing a 2015 change affecting specified individual plans (SIPs) – defined benefit pension plans for high-earning employees that are registered under federal income tax legislation. SIPs did not have to register in B.C. before 2015. Updated legislation restores the exemption from registration.

An amendment to Manitoba’s Beneficiary Designation Act allows a pension plan member’s legal representative to now make a beneficiary designation on behalf of the member if they can’t make the designation themselves.

Bill 15 would modernize New Brunswick’s pension rules by exempting certain collectively bargained pension plans from specific funding requirements and allowing small pension benefits to be unlocked.

The amendment allows individuals to name beneficiaries electronically for certain types of plans, including a workplace pension, retirement, welfare or profit-sharing fund or plan, a registered retirement income fund, a registered retirement savings plan or a tax-free savings account.

The Private Sector Pension Plan Transfer Regulations detail how private employers can transfer private sector pension plans to the Nova Scotia Public Service Superannuation Plan (the “Plan”). With these developments, private sector employers now have access to a defined benefit pension plan option. This option uses a prescribed funding policy and an employer’s responsibilities are limited to those required by the Plan.

Ontario’s provincial government is proposing the elimination of pension benefits guarantee fund assessments for defined benefit pension plans that are seeking consolidation into jointly-sponsored pension plans. The proposal would reduce direct costs by eliminating PBGF assessments for employers that sponsor single-employer DB pension plans and apply to transfer their assets and liabilities into JSPPs.

The Quebec government adopted regulations allowing defined contribution pension plans and voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs) to offer variable payment life annuities (VPLAs). The regulatory changes establish the framework under which DC plans and VRSPs may offer the lifetime income option.

Starting on April 13, 2023, as long as plan members have room in their registered retirement savings plans, they can contribute as much as they want to the SPP, within RRSP limits. In addition, if they have other unlocked investments they’d like to move over to the SPP, they can do so, no matter the amount.